The Climate of Kiowa County Kiowa County is part of the Central Great Plains, encompassing some of the best agricultural land in Oklahoma. Average annual precipitation ranges from about 24 inches in northwestern Kiowa County to 30 inches in the east. May and October are the wettest months, on average, but much of the spring through fall receives sufficient rainfall. Nearly every winter has at least one inch of snow, with one year in five having ten or more inches. s average near 61 degrees, with a slight increase from north to south. s range from an average daytime high of 95 degrees in July to an average low of 25 degrees in January. Kiowa County averages a growing season of 208 days, but plants that can withstand short periods of colder temperatures may have an additional three to six weeks. Winds from the south to southwest are quite dominant, averaging twelve miles-per-hour. Relative humidity, on average, ranges from 32% to 91% during the day. During the year, humidity is highest in December and lowest in July. Winter months tend to be cloudier than summer months. The percentage of possible sunshine ranges from an average of about 60% in winter to nearly 80% in summer. Thunderstorms occur on about 45 days each year, predominantly in the spring and summer. During the period 1950-2003, Kiowa County recorded 64 tornadoes. The most recent significant tornado (F2 intensity or greater) occurred on October 9, 2001 passing near the towns of Gotebo and Cowden. This F3 tornado had a 13 mile long path and affected parts of Kiowa and Washita Counties. There was only one injury. Kiowa County s most deadly tornado occurred on May 10, 1905. An F5 tornado moved through Kiowa, Tillman and Jackson County claiming the lives of 97 and injuring 150. Typically, there are about 7 events each year of hail exceeding one inch in diameter. As information collection improves, both the number of reported tornadoes and the number of severe hail events have increased. (deg F) 66 64 62 60 58 56 54 52 50 Average Annual (Hobart) 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 Year 1970 1980 1990 2000 Precipitation (inches) 50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 1910 1920 Annual Precipitation (Hobart) 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 Year 1990 2000
(deg Fahrenheit) AVERAGES (1971-2000) EXTREMES (1910-2003) AVG # DAYS PER MONTH (1971-2000) Daily Max Daily Min Daily Avg Record High Record Low Max>100 Max>90 Max<32 Min<32 Min<0 Jan 48.0 25.0 36.5 88 (1st, 1910) -10 (18th, 1930) 4 25 * Feb 54.2 29.6 41.9 92 (25th, 1917) -7 (8th, 1933) 3 17 * Mar 63.7 38.1 50.9 96 (21st, 1916) 2 (11th, 1948) * * 8 Apr 73.0 46.8 59.9 102 (12th, 1972) 19 (2nd, 1936) * 1 2 May 81.0 57.1 69.0 108 (24th, 2000) 32 (3rd, 1954) 0 5 Jun 90.2 66.3 78.2 116 (24th, 1980) 43 (3rd, 1919) 2 17 Jul 95.3 71.0 83.2 117 (19th, 1936) 52 (6th, 1924) 8 25 Aug 94.0 69.9 81.9 116 (12th, 1936) 46 (31st, 1915) 7 24 Sep 84.8 61.9 73.4 110 (4th, 2000) 31 (30th, 1984) 1 11 * Oct 74.3 50.0 62.1 102 (3rd, 2000) 14 (30th, 1917) * 1 * 1 Nov 60.0 37.4 48.7 89 (6th, 1924) 9 (12th, 1911) * 10 Dec 50.1 28.1 39.1 86 (24th, 1955) -9 (23rd, 1989) 3 22 * Annual 72.5 48.5 60.5 117 (Jul 19, 1936) -10 (Jan 18, 1930) 19 85 10 84 1 Precipitation (inches) AVERAGE EXTREMES (1910-2003) AVG # DAYS PER MONTH (1971-2000) 1971-2000 Monthly Max Daily Max any meas 0.10"+ 0.25"+ 0.50"+ 1.00"+ Jan 0.92" 4.65" (1939) 2.16" (8th, 1939) 7 4 2 1 * * Feb 1.02" 3.03" (1911) 1.87" (18th, 1911) 7 4 3 1 1 * Mar 1.97" 6.29" (1929) 3.81" (10th, 1990) 9 6 3 2 1 1 Apr 2.44" 9.95" (1957) 3.18" (27th, 1912) 8 6 4 3 2 1 May 4.67" 12.05" (1969) 4.47" (15th, 1980) 12 10 7 5 3 1 Jun 3.39" 9.72" (2003) 4.22" (5th, 1953) 10 8 5 4 2 1 Jul 2.44" 10.58" (1975) 4.34" (17th, 1950) 7 6 4 3 2 1 Aug 2.54" 8.23" (1937) 5.88" (2nd, 1995) 8 6 4 3 1 1 Sep 3.47" 10.93" (1973) 5.73" (19th, 1965) 8 6 4 3 2 1 Oct 2.74" 12.94" (1923) 5.55" (20th, 1983) 8 6 4 3 2 1 Nov 1.56" 6.71" (1992) 2.36" (20th, 1979) 7 5 3 2 1 * Dec 1.26" 5.52" (1911) 3.30" (22nd, 1932) 8 5 3 1 1 * Annual 28.43" 12.94" (Oct 1923) 5.88" (Aug 2, 1995) 100 73 45 31 18 8 Snow and Sleet (inches) AVERAGE EXTREMES (1910-1999) AVG # DAYS PER MONTH (1970-1999) 1970-1999 Monthly Max Daily Max Greatest Depth any meas 0.50"+ 1.00"+ Pot. Glazing Jan 2.3" 10.4" (1948) 7.6" (1st, 1948) 8.0" (8th, 1920) 4 1 1 1 3 Feb 2.0" 10.1" (1978) 8.0" (18th, 1921) 8.0" (18th, 1921) 3 1 1 1 2 Mar 0.2" 17.0" (1924) 9.0" (19th, 1924) 14.0" (9th, 1924) 1 * * * * Apr 0.0" 7.5" (1938) 4.5" (7th, 1938) 5.0" (7th, 1938) * * * * May 0.0" 0.0" (1949) 0.0" (17th, 1949) 0.1" (16th, 1952) * Jun 0.0" 0.0" (1955) 0.0" (2nd, 1949) * Jul 0.0" 0.0" (1971) 0.0" (1st, 1971) 0.1" (1st, 1971) * Aug 0.0" 0.0" (1953) 0.0" (11th, 1953) 43.0" (16th, 1933) * Sep 0.0" 0.0" (1990) 0.0" (10th, 1990) * Oct 0.0" 0.0" (1910) 0.0" (19th, 1910) 0.1" (31st, 1991) * * Nov 0.3" 5.0" (1918) 3.3" (19th, 1988) 3.0" (25th, 1918) 1 * * * * Dec 1.5" 14.4" (1942) 12.0" (6th, 1942) 15.0" (2nd, 1971) 3 1 1 1 2 Annual 6.4" 17.0" (Mar 1924) 12.0" (Dec 6, 1942) 43.0" (Aug 16, 1933) 12 4 3 3 9
TEMPERATURE AND PRECIPITATION From Hobart Cooperative Observer Station (344204); January 1910 December 2003 Latitude: 3500N Longitude: 09903W Elevation: 1551 ft Exceedence values (2 in 10 years) Month: Maximum Higher Than: Minimum Lower Than: Precipitation Less Than: Precipitation More Than: January 76 1 0.13 1.40 February 82 7 0.26 1.87 March 90 14 0.56 2.48 April 94 26 1.09 4.03 May 100 38 1.81 6.93 June 106 51 1.36 5.36 July 109 58 0.47 3.44 August 108 55 0.76 3.58 September 103 41 0.84 5.07 October 94 30 0.83 4.43 November 84 15 0.17 2.07 December 75 7 0.20 1.89 Annual 110-2 20.58 33.35 First Freezing in Fall Probability 24 F or Lower 28 F or Lower 32 F or Lower 1 Year in 10 November 3 October 27 October 14 Earlier Than 2 Years in 10 November 11 November 1 October 20 Earlier Than 5 Years in 10 Earlier Than November 23 November 11 November 3 Last Freezing in Spring Probability 24 F or Lower 28 F or Lower 32 F or Lower 1 Year in 10 April 3 April 13 April 21 Later Than 2 Years in 10 March 27 April 8 April 15 Later Than 5 Years in 10 Later Than March 16 March 2 April 6 Number of Days in Growing Season Probability Higher than 24 F Higher than 28 F Higher than 32 F 9 Years in 10 226 202 190 8 Years in 10 233 212 195 5 Years in 10 250 232 208 2 Years in 10 271 247 223 1 Year in 10 281 252 229
WINDS From Hobart Mesonet Site (HOBA); Jan 1994 Dec 2001 Latitude: 3499N Longitude: 09905W Elevation: 1555 ft Wind Roses show the prevailing direction from which the wind is blowing. North is up in the image. The circles show the percentage of time from which the wind is blowing in that direction. For example, Hobart records a southsoutheasterly wind about 12 percent of the time, with northerly winds nearly 6 percent of the time. The table below shows the percentage of time the wind is blowing from each of the 16-point compass headings, and the percent of time the prevailing wind is recorded in each speed bin. Maximum Gust: 91.0 mph Maximum Sustained: 52.3 mph Overall Average Speed: 12.0 mph HOBA N NNE NE ENE E ESE SE SSE S SSW SW WSW W WNW NW NNW Totals Calm 0.3% 1-5 mph 0.5 0.6 0.6 0.8 0.9 0.7 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.4 8.7% 6-10 mph 1.4 2.0 2.5 2.9 2.5 1.9 1.8 2.9 3.0 2.2 1.4 1.0 1.1 1.3 1.1 1.2 30.1% 11-15 mph 1.4 2.3 2.2 1.6 1.0 0.7 1.2 4.3 6.8 3.9 1.1 0.5 0.4 0.4 0.6 1.0 29.2% 16-20 mph 1.2 1.7 1.3 0.6 0.3 0.2 0.5 3.0 5.8 2.7 0.6 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.4 0.8 19.5% 21-25 mph 0.8 0.9 0.5 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.1 1.3 2.7 1.2 0.2 0.1 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.5 8.8% 26-30 mph 0.3 0.3 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.4 0.8 0.4 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.2 2.7% 31-35 mph 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.6% 35+ mph 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1% Totals 5.8 7.8 7.3 6.1 4.6 3.4 4.3 12.4 19.6 10.8 3.7 2.3 2.1 2.4 2.8 4.3 100.0% HOBA N NNE NE ENE E ESE SE SSE S SSW SW WSW W WNW NW NNW Max Gust 60 79 91 48 62 71 53 61 69 58 64 77 67 71 68 61 Max 5 Min 45 47 48 37 44 33 42 45 49 45 46 47 41 40 52 45 Avg Speed 13.8 12.9 11.3 9.1 8.0 7.6 9.8 13.2 14.6 13.5 10.5 9.5 8.1 7.9 10.3 13.1 Due to rounding, column and row totals may not sum to exactly 100.0%.
HUMIDITY From Hobart Mesonet Site (HOBA); Jan 1994 Dec 2003 Latitude: 3499N Longitude: 09905W Elevation: 1555 ft Mean Monthly Humidity and Moisture Daily Maximum Relative Humidity Daily Minimum Relative Humidity Daily Average Relative Humidity Daily Average Dewpoint ( o F) Daily Average Vapor Deficit January 87 44 67 26 3.2 February 86 43 66 30 4.2 March 87 42 66 36 5.1 April 88 41 66 45 7.2 May 91 44 69 57 9.4 June 87 39 64 63 14.4 July 79 32 55 63 21.4 August 79 34 57 63 19.3 September 83 38 61 57 13.6 October 85 42 65 47 8.0 November 88 46 69 38 4.4 December 88 47 70 29 3.1 Annual 86 41 65 46 9.5 Vapor pressure is given in millibars. SOIL TEMPERATURES From Hobart Mesonet Site (HOBA); Jan 1994 Dec 2003 Latitude: 3499N Longitude: 09905W Elevation: 1555 ft Soil s at 10 cm (4-inch) depth Average beneath sod Average beneath bare soil Average Daily Max Average Daily Min January 40 40 44 37 February 43 44 49 40 March 50 51 57 46 April 60 62 69 55 May 71 73 81 66 June 79 81 89 75 July 86 88 95 81 August 85 86 94 80 September 77 78 85 71 October 65 65 72 59 November 52 52 57 47 December 42 42 46 39 Annual 63 64 70 58 Average daily maximum and minimum temperatures based on bare soil.
TORNADOES Significant Tornadoes (F2 intensity or greater) affecting Kiowa County, 1880 2003. Source: Significant Tornadoes, 1880-1989: Volume I and National Weather Service, Norman office. Date Path Deaths Injuries Rating Counties Affected May 10, 1905 40 miles 97 150 F5 Jackson, Tillman, Kiowa November 4, 1905 3 miles 8 16 F3 Kiowa, Washita April 27, 1912 20 miles 7 25 F4 Greer, Kiowa April 27, 1912 20 miles 4 15 F4 Kiowa, Washita April 27, 1912 12 miles 1 5 F3 Greer, Kiowa May 3, 1912 7 miles 0 0 F2 Kiowa, Washita April 18, 1917 15 miles 1 20 F2 Tillman, Kiowa April 18, 1917 5 miles 0 15 F3 Kiowa June 16, 1928 30 miles 7 52 F4 Greer, Jackson, Kiowa April 19, 1929 30 miles 3 35 F4 Kiowa, Caddo May 11, 1933 15 miles 1 1 F3 Tillman, Kiowa May 27, 1935 15 miles 0 3 F2 Kiowa June 5, 1936 6 miles 1 5 F3 Kiowa April 9, 1944 5 miles 0 3 F2 Kiowa April 28, 1950 20 miles 1 1 F3 Kiowa, Washita May 23, 1952 15 miles 0 0 F2 Kiowa May 1, 1954 65 miles 0 5 F4 Foard (TX), Wilbarger (TX), Tillman, Kiowa June 14, 1955 5 miles 0 0 F2 Kiowa April 2, 1957 40 miles 0 1 F2 Jackson, Kiowa June 18, 1973 1 mile 0 0 F2 Kiowa February 22, 1975 4 miles 1 2 F2 Kiowa May 20, 1977 3 miles 0 0 F2 Kiowa April 5, 1978 6 miles 0 0 F2 Kiowa May 11, 1982 7 miles 0 0 F3 Kiowa May 11, 1982 7 miles 0 0 F2 Kiowa, Washita May 13, 1983 0.1 miles 0 0 F2 Kiowa April 26, 1986 7 miles 0 0 F2 Kiowa May 14, 1986 3 miles 0 0 F2 Kiowa October 9, 2001 12 miles 0 1 F3 Kiowa, Washita
About the Data: The temperature and precipitation data from Hobart are from the National Weather Service Cooperative Observer station, which records daily maximum and minimum temperatures, precipitation, and snowfall. The station has been in operation since 1910, yielding a 103-year series of data. Extremes, frost and freeze data, and growing season lengths were determined using the entire 103-year series. The means for temperature, precipitation, and snowfall were determined using a subset of the series, from 1971-2000, corresponding with official national standards set by the National Climatic Data Center. Wind and humidity data are compiled from the Oklahoma Mesonet station at Hobart (4 miles southeast of town), which has been operational since 1994. The Hobart Mesonet site was chosen because it is the only Mesonet site in Kiowa County. The Oklahoma Mesonet is a cooperative project between Oklahoma State University and The University of Oklahoma. Data are collected and archived at the Oklahoma Climatological Survey. The Mesonet records a variety of weather information at 5-minute intervals throughout the day, with at least one reporting station in every county in Oklahoma. For more information on the Mesonet, see http://www.mesonet.org/. Solar radiation (sunshine) data were obtained from the Climatic Atlas of the United States, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1968. Severe storm information is available from the National Climatic Data Center, http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/, under Weather/Climate Events: Climatology & Extreme Events, U.S. Storm Events Database. The best site for online county tornado information for Oklahoma is through the National Weather Service, Norman Office, http://www.srh.noaa.gov/oun/tornadodata/. The tables and summary were prepared by the Oklahoma Climatological Survey. For more information, please contact OCS at 405-325-2541. Many climate summary products are available on the worldwide web at http://www.ocs.ou.edu/. Need Additional Information? If you cannot find what you need here, or want some help interpreting what this means for your particular needs, please contact: The Oklahoma Climatological Survey 100 E. Boyd Street, Suite 1210 Norman, OK 73019-1012 Phone: 405-325-2541 E-mail: ocs@ou.edu In addition to maintaining records of all weather and climate information for Oklahoma, OCS has a staff of climatologists who specialize in tailoring information for particular needs. Whether you want to know how dry it has been or are planning a construction project, OCS can help.